Timer switch mechanism



Jan. 4 19%, R. B. BEARE TIMER SWITCH MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 29, 1963 e w r Z i R W5 1 h m M? \s M M N a 1 ml? m A I I Q b m Q H- f M till l 42 fi\\ k. I 7 Q i \N @N mm w i a Q z m. N i 0 v w Q Q Q% ,0 H. l M ,Q P Z .8

Jan. 4, 1966 R. B. BEARE 3,227,826

TIMER SWITCH MECHANISM Filed April 29, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A %N J 6 r Y f z w a hm w MN I m Am r L mg w 4 mm 1M A mm. 3 5 V Wm mm hm w\ w\\ ww mmw J J a w a 5 WR H R :& Q i

United States Patent 3,227,826 TIMER SWITCH MECHANKSM Robert B. Beare, Herrin, Ill., assignor to Borg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 276,42? 3 Claims. (Cl. 200-38) This invention relates to a timer switch mechanism adapted to control a plurality of electric circuits throughout a predtermined sequence which may be used, for example, in an automatic washing machine. The timer switch mechanism of the subject invention is of the type which may be manually adjusted.

It is common to use electric timers to control circuits in modern appliances. A provision is usually made for manual adjustment of the timer switch mechanism. In appliances such as an automatic washing machine where large moments of inertia are developed in certain phases of its operation, for example, the spin cycle, serious damage to the machine can result from manual adjustment of the timer switch mechanism while it is electrically energized and capable of completing the controlled circuits.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a timer switch mechanism in which manual adjustment of the timer switch mechanism is not possible unless the timer is tie-energized.

It is a more particular object of my invention to provide a timer switch mechanism wherein a manual knob is used to adjust the timer switch mechanism. A timer rotor shaft is provided carrying a number of cam discs and driven by a constant speed motor to control a series of switches actuated by the cam discs. Clutch teeth are provided on the manual knob which must engage with clutch teeth rotatably fixed with respect to the timer rotor shaft before any manual adjustment of the angular position of the cam discs is possible.

The timer rotor shaft has two axial positions, one in which the master switch to energize the timer is open and another in which the master switch is closed. Movement of the manual knob to engage the clutch teeth to allow manual adjustment moves the timer rotor shaft through a detent mechanism to its axial position in which the master switch for the timer is open. Thus, when manual adjustment of the timer is made, the timer switch mechanism is not electrically energized.

The invention consists of the novel constructions, arrangements and devices to be hereinafter described and claimed for carrying out the above-stated objects and such other objects as will be apparent from the following description of preferred forms of the invention, illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of a timer switch mechanism incorporating the present invention illustrating the timer switch mechanism in a de-energized condition ready for manual adjustment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the manual knob illustrating the clutch teeth.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the timer switch mechanism showing the position of the manual knob after the first movement is made to energize the timer when the manual adjustment has been completed.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view similar to that of FIG. 5 showing the manual knob and the timer rotor shaft in the final position after manual adjustment of the timer and in which the timer is energized.

Referring now to FIG. 1' of the accompanying drawings, the timer switch mechanism is driven by a constant "ice speed motor 10 which drives the drive pinion 11 through reduction gearing in the housing 12. A housing 13 encloses the switches for controlling the various electric circuits of an appliance.

The manual knob 14 is mounted upon the timer rotor shaft 15 and is freely rotatable with respect thereto. The timer rotor shaft is journalled in the housing 13 and is provided with a groove 16 having a cam surface 17 and a groove 18 having a cam surface 19. A closed bore 20 is provided in the manual knob. A spring 21 is mounted in the bore 20 and urges a ball 22 into engagement with one of the grooves in the timer rotor shaft.

A timer dial 23 is provided which can be marked to indicate the particular cycle of operation the controlled machine is performing. The timer dial is provided with a hub 24 which is fixed by a set screw 25 to a sleeve member 26. The sleeve member 26 is rotatably and axially fixed to the timer rotor shaft by a set screw 27. The set screw 27 engages a flat 28 in the timer rotor shaft to permit adjustment of the sleeve member relative to manual knob 14. Clutch teeth 29 are provided on the manual knob (illustrated in FIG. 4) which are engageable with matching clutch teeth 30 on the hub 24. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the clutch teeth 29 and 30 are engaged and the manual knob can rotate the timer rotor shaft. Since hub 24, sleeve 26 and rotor shaft 15 are fixed to rotate together, it will be apparent that clutch teeth 30 could alternatively be formed on the sleeve 26 and be engageable with clutch teeth 29 on the manual knob without deaprting from the scope of the invention.

The timer rotor shaft 15 has a cam mounted thereon which engages with a hair spring 36 to hold the timer rotor shaft in either of its two axial positions. The hair pin spring 36 is mounted to the housing 13 by a screw 37 and is best illustrated in FIG. 3,

The master switch 40 has an arm 41 mounted on the housing 13 with contact 42 thereon and an arm 43 mounted on housing with contact 44 thereon. A terminal 45 is provided for arm 41 and a terminal 46 is provided for arm 43. The timer rotor shaft is provided with a plate 47 fixed thereto, which is engaged with a projection 48 on the arm 41 of the master switch 40. A drive gear 49 is fixed to the timer rotor shaft which engages the drive pinion 11 to transmit the drive to the timer rotor shaft from the motor 16 Referring to FIG. 2, cam disc 50 is fixed to the timer rotor shaft. A switch controlling one of the circuits to be connected to the timer switch mechanism comprises an arm 56 with contact 57 thereon fixed to the housing 13 and an arm 53 with contact 59 thereon fixed to the housing 13. A terminal 60 is provided for the arm 56 and a terminal 61 is provided for the arm 58. A projection 62 on the arm 56 engages the outer periphery of the cam disc 50. Cam disc 50 and switch 55 are exemplary of the discs and switches of which there may be several in housing 13 controlling the various circuits of an electric appliance.

As illustrated in the drawing, one of the large radius portions 65 of the cam disc is engaged with the projection 62 and the contacts 57 and 59 are separated interrupting the circuit controlled. When the smaller radius portions 66 of the cam disc 5%) are .in engagement with the projection 62, the contacts 57 and 59 are closed completing the circuit controlled.

As discussed above, FIG. 4 illustrates the configuration of the clutch teeth 29 on the manual knob 14 which are of the same configuration as the clutch teeth 35 on the hub 24.

The operation of the timer switch mechanism of the present invention is as follows:

With the position of the manual knob as shown in FIG. 1 the master switch 40 is open and timer is deenergized. Manual adjustment can be made of the angular position of the timer rotor shaft since clutch eeth 29 and 30 are engaged.

After the manual adjustment is complete, the manual knob is moved to the left as illustrated in FIG. 1 to reenergize the timer switch mechanism. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the first movement to the left of the manual knob will result in the knob moving relative to the timer rotor shaft with the ball 22 moving up the cam surface 19 of the groove 18 and ending up .in the groove 16. Due to the gradual slope or contour of the cam surface 19 and the strength of the hair pin spring 36, less force is required to move the manual knob relative to the timer rotor shaft from its position with the ball in groove 13 than the force that .is required to move cam 35 through the hair pin spring 36. Thus, in the position shown in FIG. 5 the clutch teeth 29 and are no longer engaged and the master switch 4t) is still open with the timer switch mechanism de-energized.

Due to the contour of cam surface 17 of the groove 16 and the strength of the spring 21 more force is required to move the manual knob to the left relative to the timer rotor shaft when the ball 22 is in groove 16 than the force required to move the cam on the timer rotor shaft through hair pin spring 36. Therefore, the second part of the movement of the cam knob to the left will result in axial movement of the timer rotor shaft to the left to the position shown in FIG. 6 in which the master switch 41 is closed and the timer is energized.

When it is desired to make a manual adjustment of the timer switch mechanism starting with the manual knob 14 and timer rotor shaft 15 in positions as shown in FIG. 6, the operation is as follows:

The first movement of the manual knob to the right from the position illustrated in FIG. 6 will move the timer rotor shaft to the right and open the master switch to de-energize the timer. The manual knob and timer rotor shaft will be in the position illustrated in FIG. 5 with the master switch 40 open. During this first movement of the manual knob the manual knob does not move relative to the timer rotor shaft since more force is required to move the manual knob relative to the timer rotor shaft, thereby moving ball 22 out of groove 16, than the force that is required to move the cam 35 through the hair pin spring 36.

The second part of the movement of the manual knob from the position illustrated in FIG. 5 will result in the ball 22 moving out of the groove 16 and into the groove 13, the manual knob moving relative to the timer rotor shaft. The clutch teeth 29 and 30 are now engaged, the manual knob and the timer rotor shaft being positioned as illustrated in FIG. 1. Manual adjustment of the timer mechanism may now take place and no damage to the appliance being controlled will result since the master switch 40 is open and the timer is therefore de-energized.

From the above it will be apparent that this invention provides a novel and advantageous construction of a timer switch mechanism wherein manual adjustment of the timer switch mechanism with the timer energized is impossible. The detent mechanism between the manual knob 14 and the timer rotor shaft 15 is of a simple construction. The flexibility of this construction is apparent in that the force required to move the manual knob relative to the timer rotor shaft can be easily varied by changing the strength of the spring 22, or changing the incline of the cams l7 and 19. By use of the simple detent mechanism disclosed herein, relatively few parts are required to obtain the desired characteristic of making manual adjustment of the timer impossible unless the timer is de-energized.

While the present invention has been described in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not by way of limitation and the scope of the invention is defined solely by the appended claims which should be construed as broadly as the prior art will permit.

I claim:

1. A timer mechanism for an electric appliance including a timer motor and comprising a frame, a rotatable shaft mounted in said frame and movable between two axial positions, yieldable means engaging said shaft and operable to hold said shaft in either of said two positions, a master switch mounted in said frame for energizing said timer motor, a member mounted on said shaft adjacent said master switch and engageable with said master switch, manual means mounted on said shaft for moving said shaft between said two axial positions, clutch mean on said shaft, clutch means on said manual means, said clutch means being engageable to establish a rotary drive connection between said manual means and said shaft, said shaft having two grooves formed therein, detent mechanism located between said manual means and said shaft comprising a spring urged ball mounted in said manual means engageable with either of said two grooves, said detent mechanism being operative to move said shaft to one of said axial positions in which said member engages said master switch to open said switch and de-energize said timer motor when said manual means is actuated, whereby said shaft will move axially first to open said switch and then said manual means will move axially relative to said shaft to establish said rotary drive connection between said shaft and said manual means through said clutch means, and when said manual means is actuated to energize said timer motor said manual means will move axially relative to said shaft to interrupt said rotary drive connection before said shaft is moved axially to close said master switch.

2. A timer mechanism for an electric appliance including a timer motor and having a plurality of electric circuits therein comprising a frame, a rotatable shaft mounted in said frame and movable between two axial positions, yieldable means engaging said shaft and operable to hold said shaft in either of said two positions, a master switch mounted in said frame for energizing said timer, a series of switches motor mounted in said frame for controlling said plurality of electric circuits, a plurality of cams mounted on said shaft and engageable with said series of switches, a member mounted on said shaft adjacent said master switch and engageable with said master switch, manual means mounted on said shaft for moving said shaft between said two axial positions, first clutch teeth on said manual means, second clutch teeth fixed to and rotatable with said shaft and engageable with said first clutch teeth to provide for rotary movement of said shaft by said manual means, said shaft having two grooves formed therein, detent mechanism located between said manual means and said shaft comprising a spring urged ball mounted in said manual means engageable with either of said two grooves, said detent mechanism being operative to move said shaft to one of said axial positions in which said member engages said master switch to open said switch and de-energize said timer motor when said manual means is actuated whereby said shaft will first move axially to open said switch and then said manual means will move axially relative to said shaft to engage said first and second clutch teeth and provide for rotary movement of said shaft by said manual means, and when said manual means is actuated to energize said timer motor said manual means will move axially relative to said shaft to disengage said first and second clutch teeth before said shaft is moved axially to close said master switch.

3. A timer mechanism for an electric appliance including a timer motor and having a plurality of electric circuits therein comprising a frame, a rotatable shaft mounted in said frame and movable between two axial positions, yieldable means engaging said shaft and operable to hold said shaft in either of said two positions, a master switch mounted in said frame for energizing said timer motor,

a series of switches mounted in said frame for controlling said plurality of electric circuits, a plurality of radial cams mounted on said shaft and engageable with said series of switches, a member mounted on said shaft adjacent said master switch and engageable with said master switch, manual means mounted on said shaft for moving said shaft between said two axial positions, first clutch teeth on said manual means, second clutch teeth fixed to and rotatable with said shaft and engageable with said first clutch teeth to provide for rotary movement of said shaft by said manual means, said shaft having two grooves formed therein each of said grooves having a cam surface therein, detent mechanism located between said manual means and said shaft comprising a spring urged ball mounted in said manual means engageable in either of said two grooves, said groove cam surface having particular contours whereby said detail mechanism will move said shaft to one of said axial positions in which said member engages said master switch to open said switch and deenergize said timer motor when said manual means is actuated, said shaft will move axially first to open said switch and then said manual means will move axialy relative to said shaft to engage said first and second clutch teeth and provide for rotary movement of said shaft by said manual means, and when said manual means is actuated to enenergize said timer motor, said manual means will move axially relative to said shaft to disengage said first and second clutch teeth before said shaft is moved axially by said manual means to close said master switch.

References Cited by the Examiner KATHLEEN H. CLAFFY, Primary Examiner.

BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Examiner.

S. B. SMITH, H. B. ODONNELL,

Assistant Examiners. 

1. A TIMER MECHANISM FOR AN ELECTRIC APPLIANCE INCLUDING A TIMER MOTOR AND COMPRISING A FRAME, A ROTATABLE SHAFT MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME AND MOVABLE BETWEEN TWO AXIAL POSITIONS, YIELDABLE MEANS ENGAGING SAID SHAFT AND OPERABLE TO HOLD SAID SHAFT IN EITHER OF SAID TWO POSITIONS, A MASTER SWITCH MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME FOR ENERGIZING SAID TIMER MOTOR, A MEMBER MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT ADJACENT SAID MASTER SWITCH AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID MASTER SWITCH, MANUAL MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT FOR MOVING SAID SHAFT BETWEEN SAID TWO AXIAL POSITIONS, CLUTCH MEANS ON SAID SHAFT, CLUTCH MEANS ON SAID MANUAL MEANS, SAID CLUTCH MEANS BEING ENGAGEABLE TO ESTABLISH A ROTARY DRIVE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID MANUAL MEANS AND SAID SHAFT, SAID SHAFT HAVING TWO GROOVES FORMED THEREIN, DETENT MECHANISM LOCATED BETWEEN SAID MANUAL MEANS AND SAID SHAFT COMPRISING A SPRING URGED BALL MOUNTED IN SAID MANUAL MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH EITHER OF SAID TWO GROOVES, SAID DETENT MECHANISM BEING OPERATIVE TO MOVE SAID SHAFT TO ONE OF SAID AXIAL POSITIONS IN WHICH SAID MEMBER ENGAGES SAID MASTER SWITCH TO OPEN SAID SWITCH AND DE-ENERGIZE SAID TIMER MOTOR WHEN SAID MANUAL MEANS IS ACTUATED, WHEREBY SAID SHAFT WILL MOVE AXIALLY FIRST TO OPEN SAID SWITCH AND THEN SAID MANUAL MEANS WILL MOVE AXIALLY RELATIVE TO SAID SHAFT TO ESTABLISH SAID ROTARY DRIVE CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID SHAFT AND SAID MANUAL MEANS THROUGH SAID CLUTCH MEANS, AND WHEN SAID MANUAL MEANS IS ACTUATED TO ENERGIZE SAID TIMER MOTOR SAID MANUAL MEANS WILL MOVE AXIALLY RELATIVE TO SAID SHAFT TO INTERRUPT SAID ROTARY DRIVE CONNECTION BEFORE SAID SHAFT IS MOVED AXIALLY TO CLOSE SAID MASTER SWITCH. 